At noon, above the Primordial Five Continents, at the South Heaven Gate.
Sunlight spilled across the sea of clouds. No insects or birds flew here, yet the rolling clouds formed a spectacle of their own, and the wandering breeze carried a wondrous melody.
A streak of golden light shot in from the northwest. From afar, it resembled an arrow piercing the clouds, and in the blink of an eye it had reached within a hundred li of the South Heaven Gate, leaving heaven and earth behind it.
The golden light halted abruptly, transforming into a tall, slender figure standing proudly a hundred li from the South Heaven Gate.
Behold this immortal!
Swordlike brows, narrow eyes, and a hawkish nose; lightning flashed in his gaze, and pride filled his heart.
He wore a grand golden cloak that displayed the style of the Phoenix Clan, a crown of golden pearls and great jade upon his head, and white-winged boots embroidered with gold beneath his feet. He gave the South Heaven Gate a chilly smile, his overly sharp chin lifting slightly, until he could practically 'look straight ahead' through both nostrils.
Tremble, Heaven!
"Ha... achoo..."
At the South Heaven Gate, a gatekeeping heavenly general could not help yawning and stretching.
A hundred li away, the birdman frowned and began to inspect the South Heaven Gate...
Something was wrong. Why had the South Heaven Gate not reinforced its guards? Why were only Celestial Immortal and True Immortal soldiers and generals stationed here?
Could it be that the Heavenly Court had not heard the news he had spread?
No, that was not right either. The conversation between the Water God and Dong Mugong had spread through every marketplace. They clearly knew that he, the Golden-Winged Great Peng Bird, was coming here.
Sneaking an attack upon